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A Randomized Controlled Study of Safer Kids: A Manualized Intervention to Prevent Child Abuse

NCT04163367 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 112

Last updated 2025-05-20

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

One of the most important responsibilities for the social services is to investigate suspected child abuse and to offer suitable intervention for the families. The lack of published studies on the effect of such interventions is therefore noteworthy. Globally, few controlled studies have been published and none of them have been conducted in Sweden. To better guide the social services in the selection of interventions, the need for Swedish studies with experimental design is therefore apparent. Previous experience in using manualized interventions with families within the social services points to the importance of regarding issues of implementation and dissemination. Interventions need to be developed and adjusted to optimize the chance of engaging families that often live under strong social pressure. The interventions also need to be designed to enable implementation and sustainability in regular services.

Safer Kids is a manualized intervention offered to caregivers under investigation for child abuse. The intervention was developed by the City of Stockholm in cooperation with practitioners within the social services. The content is based on the established parenting program Comet, but has been adjusted to suit the target group. Safer Kids has already been offered for a couple of years within the social services, but has not yet been evaluated.

In this project, a study of intervention effects will be conducted. Caregivers will be randomized to either receive Intervention as usual (IAU), or IAU plus Safer Kids. Effects on established risk-factors for child abuse, as well as the abused childrens' experiences, will be measures. Information on additional reports to the social services on child abuse will be collected, up to 30 month after the intervention.

Conditions

  • Child Abuse
  • Child Maltreatment

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Safer Kids

A behaviorally based parent training program with the purpose to reduce or prevent child abuse.

OTHER

Intervention as usual (IAU)

Everything that's included in the social service units' regular handling of cases; such as the formal investigation and family treatment. The units cannot offer Safer Kids as a part of IAU.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Martin Forster, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
2 Years
Max Age
12 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-11-15
Primary Completion
2024-06-01
Completion
2024-06-01

Countries

  • Sweden

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04163367 on ClinicalTrials.gov